An Unlikely Friend
by Ai Star
Summary: "You poor thing… what could have happened to you?" she asked herself softly since there was no way a robot could talk" Cinder after finding a strange decaying animatronic unknowingly sets off a stream of events, would it get her killed or will she live long enough to discover the hidden secrets that others have been trying to hide? No pairings Rediting- What was lost what was found
1. Prologue

"And this is the security room" a burley man said as he gestured to the slightly broken room filled with things that looked as if they had seen better days. Grabbing her bag strap tightly a woman looked round with curious eyes as she took in the surrounding area, interest filled her honey eyes while her black hair had been tied up into a high ponytail.

"Though I am surprised that you've taken an interest, after all given the history of Freddy's Fazbear's Pizza" the man said as he looked at her, the young woman wore a thin grey top that hugged her curves but rested on the top part of her brown trouser like jeans, what shocked the man was that she wore brown flip flops since it was cold in the room, even he was shivering slightly from the occasional chills despite the fact that some of it was from the history of the place being haunted. But hey, the owners were spending large amounts of money on this place and the workers so who was he to complain?

"Well I am into mysteries" the woman said brightly, her honey eyes shone with interest as she pulled her black coat close since she hadn't zipped it up. "Besides it's only a replica, what are the chances of it being the real deal?" she said brightly while the man frowned slightly.

"Right… well your role as mentioned is a security guard allowing viewers to experience some authenticity as they explore the place. However I will need you to make sure that this place is ship shape, meaning no people must be here except you. Is that understand?" he asked sternly as he gave her a hard look.

"Certainly Mr. Blaw" she said kindly as she nodded with a bright smile on her face, the man stared at her for a bit. She was a strange one indeed.

"I'm sorry I didn't catch your name" Mr. Blaw said bluntly causing her to blink.

"Oh… I'm Cynthia, but some call me Cinder" she said with a soft smile that caught him off guard.

"Oh okay, I see well I'll see what you're made of next week if you want to start" Mr. Blaw said after trying to regain his composure from how the peppy girl continue to smile. Part of him was suspicious of her since no one would just willingly want to come here, then again it was either her or the young man who was about twenty. Only the difference was that she showed more promise than the other, so what choice did he have? "Before I forget I wanted to confirm that you are over the age of eighteen" the man said as he looked at her. Cinder nodded with a kind smile.

"That's right, I just turned nineteen last month" she replied causing his eyebrows to go up.

"I see, well I hope you had a wonderful birthday" she nodded at his words while gripping her bag strap.

"Wonderful, well the trial job is there for you if you want it?" he asked.

"Oh thank you, I'll be more than happy to take the job" she chuckled "I know I'm not a guy but this does sound like an interesting place" she added with an earnest smile while looking around the area. Nodding the man coughed into his fist and looked at the state of the place.

"You'll receive your security uniform on your way out, welcome aboard" he lifted his hand for her to shake.

"It's a pleasure to work with you as well sir" Cinder said kindly while a guy with shaggy brown hair entered the room. He wore a blue parker with fur on the end of the hood, his white shirt could be seen under the open parker while he wore a pair of black shorts, he also wore black boots that were up to his ankles.

"Whoa, is that the person who will be acting as a security guy?" the male asked with a laid back tone, Cinder blinked in surprise while Mr. Blaw cleared his throat.

"Cynthia this is Terrance" Mr. Blaw said stiffly as he saw Terrance looking at Cinder.

"You look interesting babe, never seen a female security guard but there's a first for everything" Terrance said with an interesting look, Cinder however… was not so keen to see him looking at her.

"I see, well it's nice to meet you…Terrance?" she asked hesitantly.

"You got it babe" he said with a wide smile as he lifted his left hand so she could shake, which she did hesitantly in order to be polite.

"Can you please not call me that please?" she asked meekly as she shied away slightly after pulling her hand back.

"Call you what babe?" he asked looking curious.

"That, babe I don't feel comfortable being called that" Cinder said wearily.

"Oh sorry, didn't mean to make you uncomfortable dudette" he said with a weak smile as he scratched the back of his head, Cinder sighed at the other nickname but just dropped it due to having no energy to complain.

"Well it's getting late, I'll see you on the fourteenth" Cinder nodded her farewell to Mr. Blaw and walked out the room.

"Looks interesting for a dudette, real babe though" he said with a grin as he watched her go.

"You do realise that I am your boss and that she has told you that she feels uncomfortable about being called that?" Mr. Blaw said sternly as he gave Terrance a look.

"S-Sorry boss, didn't mean to harsh your mellow" Terrance said before leaving the room, Mr. Blaw did frown at the turn of events but he did have other things to do and could only hope the attraction would work out… that is if Terrance doesn't mess around.

"Won't be much longer until the attraction is up and running" he said wearily as he dabbed his head slightly with a tissue before leaving the room.

* * *

Cinder placing her costume on the chair in the security room sighed before looking at her phone with a soft smile. Just one more week until the place was up and running but it didn't hurt to take a look around.

"Heeeey Dudette!" Terrance's voice could be heard from the left side of the room causing her to sigh weakly, spotting the right side of the room which was suppose to be connected to the air vents she went in without a second thought and hid while using the darkness for cover.

Terrance after entering the room looked round in surprise since he had spotted her not too long ago.

"Heeey Dudette! Where are you?" he asked looking curious as he saw her costume resting on the chair "I see your security costume so where are you?" he called, biting her lip Cinder backed away slowly by sliding her stomach on the smooth metal vent. She could only hope that the security camera hadn't been turned on since she only knew the password, as she slid backwards she almost yelped from feeling her feet no longer touching the cool metal vent and winced as her fear of heights kicked in. However instead of yelling for help she pressed her legs against the wall and slid down, she offed as she landed on the floor. Cinder got up and rubbed her behind weakly since the ground wasn't so soft, she then turned around in order to observe the area. It was dark but there was faint light from a distance, curious she tilted her head in order to see where she was. It was a bit hard to tell exactly since she was sure that this area was not on the map, allowing her eyes to adjust she took a few steps forward only to flinch from hearing a few tap tapping noises that sounded like water. Which to Cinder was odd since she was sure that the rooms had no holes in the ceilings so what was going on? Soon an off putting smell hit her nose causing her to cry out weakly and gag as it smelt like something had died in the room, where was it coming from? Had someone or something died in this room? If so how could no one have noticed the smell? What could it have been and where was it coming from?

Looking around anxiously for anything that could be seen or recognizable she chewed her bottom lip as she looked around before hearing a splash, looking down she saw nothing until she remembered her phone was in her pocket causing the shaken female to slap her forehead for the blunder and reached for it by looking at both pockets due to being unable to see. Finally finding the thin metal rectangle in her right pocket she immediately pressed a button allowing some light to enter the room. Ignoring the faint calling of Terrance she looked down and paused as she saw water, immediately her shoulders relaxed as she exhaled. Really? Just water?! Shaking her head she then used the light from her phone to look round and blinked at how barren but damaged some parts of the room was. Did the construction team just leave it like this or something? Shaking her head she resumed her observation of the room until something caught her eye, walking towards the thing of interest she knelt down slightly to see a dirty yellow object with metal stitchings on it. To her it looked like a broken robot rabbit that appeared to have been left to decay for years.

"You poor thing… what could have happened to you?" she asked herself softly since there was no way a robot could talk, Cinder placed her hand on the right cheek of the robot while her eyes showed sadness. Ignoring her phone which had gone dark she continued to look at the rabbit robot, it was odd since it looked alive-zombie like but alive which was impossible. "How no one noticed you is hard to believe" she shook her head causing her hair to move side to side as her eyes kept staring at it.

"Don't worry, I'll talk to my boss and see if they can fix you" she smiled kindly as her thumb stroked it's cheek. "I wonder what your name is though…" she sighed softly before looking at her phone and blinked in surprise.

"Oh… my shift starts now" she then looked at the robot meekly. "Sorry I have to go but I'll talk to my boss I promise" she said before getting up.

"-ey Dudette!" came a voice from the vent causing her to groan as she looked at where she appeared from.

"Really? Ugh… I'm coming" she muttered before turning to look at the rabbit. "Nice meeting you" she said before using her phone to find the door which to her relief was unlocked meaning that she didn't have to use the vent again.

* * *

"Hey dudette where did you go? Your shift started a long time ago and I was suppose to give you some information" Terrance said wearily as he saw her dishevelled appearance as she pushed her pony tail back, to her dismay she was covered in dust thanks to the air vent but made no comment about it.

"I was exploring the place in order to gather my bearings after all cameras don't exactly show you everything you know" she said stiffly, Terrance blinked in surprise before releasing a pleased noise.

"An eager one huh? I like that. So hey guess what we found" Terrance said with a wide grin.

"I don't know" she said with a blank look since she knew that he was excited and wanted to tell her that badly so she decided to humor him, after all the sooner he finished the sooner he would leave.

"Well we found one!" he said with a chuckle, Cinder blinked and tilted her head slightly before looking at him with confused eyes.

"Found one what?" she asked bluntly while masking some curiosity in her voice.

"An animatronic, it's definitely an ancient one that was most likely locked away for sometime. But the good news is that it's going to be used for the attraction" he said with a wide grin "isn't that exciting? People are going to be flocking from all over the place dudette and it's going to be awesome" he said looking like he was going to bounce off the walls from excitement.

"What does it look like?" Cinder asked as curiosity filled her eyes, Terrance chuckled as he paused and scratched the back of his head with a sheepish grin.

"Well… it's suppose to be a secret but I'll tell ya, it's a yellow animatronic rabbit that according to the tapes I have with me talk about a spring lock suit. Boss man even said that this could be one of the suits that was used. Isn't that exciting?" he asked with a lopsided smile not noticing Cinder's look as she kept her expression guarded.

"I see, thank you for telling me and I'll keep it a secret for now" she said with a bright smile in order to avoid suspicion.

"Say… you're not so bad dudette" Terrance said with a grin "tell you what, if you're not busy maybe we can-"

"Actually I have things to do I'm afraid, sorry" she chuckled meekly as she looked away shyly, Terrance paused from her words and mentally groaned at the offer being turned down.

"Oh! Well, next time maybe?" he suggested with a hopeful smile that had her wanting to twitch from the fact he was not taking the hint of her being not interested in him.

"I don't know I'm afraid, after all I am studying at the moment so I don't really have time for going out most of the time" Cinder replied softly with an apologetic smile.

"Why don't you allow yourself to chill and unwind dudette? Surely you're going to be running yourself into the ground?" he asked as he folded his arms while keeping his gaze on her.

"I have my final year next year so I want to finish what I can for now in order to pass" Cinder said softly as she bit her lip.

"Fine, but you do owe me for not telling the boss about your-"

"I'm sure exploring and making sure that there are no faults is part of my job description Terrance, now can you please go so I can start on my other jobs please?" Cinder asked as she tried to keep her cool since he was starting to grate on her nerves. Just then a noise that resembled clattering made them jump, Cinder gripped her chest before looking at the door to see a grey metallic tray being moved by someone she couldn't make out, once she heard heavy footsteps walking away did the pair release loud sighs of relief.

"Jeez…" Terrance muttered with a shake of his head. "Alright! Fine fine dudette no need to be act like that. See ya- oh and don't forget some of the equipment isn't fully functional so you'll have to reboot it at times using the maintenance button on your tablet okay? Check the ventilation so you don't suffocate or hallucinate" Terrance explained casually as he pointed at the tablet. Cinder however mentally went cold from the sudden information.

"Um… not fully functional?"

"Yeah it's a real fire hazard, looks like the big wigs went all out but forgot about health and safety. Also there isn't much battery so use the cameras sparingly okay?" Terrance added as he listed all the things important. "And if there is anything else I'll call so there isn't much to worry about, just check and reboot the audio, ventilation and cameras that's it" he said with a wide smile.

"Thank you for the advice" Cindy said with a brief smile.

"No worries dudette just helping a fellow member out, I'll also bring in a tape next time I come in" Terrance added in a peppy tone.

"What's it about?"

"It's one of the guys who use to train the other security guys, he spoke about the spring lock suits" Terrance replied before stretching "well I'm out, laters dudette" he said before leaving.

"Doesn't have the audacity to remember my name… then again I doubt I would want him to" Cinder muttered to herself before shaking her head. Sighing to herself she spotted her suit and looked at the door in order to make sure Terrance wasn't around, once the ghost was clear she immediately started to change into her security uniform. It was a bit tight but then again it was a guy's costume. Not that she was going to complain, no her mind was on the spring lock animatronic. Poor thing… how long had it been there?

As she went to sit down at the table containing the tablet she began to turn it on only to feel a brief chill in the air. Immediately Cinder looked around to see nothing to her relief but at the same time she was still on edge, was it Terrance?

"H-Hello?" she called out meekly to her right and then looked at her left. What was going on?

 _How long has it been?_

 _I've been in darkness for so long_

 _But now…_

 _I am free_


	2. Chapter 1

Thirty years had gone by and so many things had happened. Children went missing, parents became distressed, police ran like headless chickens working tirelessly to find the children but no avail. Even Hope Granger had been working tirelessly in her office, despite being a young woman she was dedicated to her job and wanted justice to be served. Only she wasn't prepared for seeing certain things to happen, seeing but also smelling blood in the pizzeria which no doubt came from the children was one thing but what stood out was the sounds of young children. Hope knew her ability to see and hear things would aid her in her work but could get her in trouble, however she was more than willing to risk it when things seemed like it was impossible. It was why her boss recommended this task to her knowing that she was the secret weapon that was only sent when there were dead ends. Hope choked quietly as she saw a small child crying with a bloody hole on his chest, her heart went out to this child but knew there was nothing she could do except see that the killer would be caught.

What a gruesome case indeed and there was no doubt this was a serial killing caused by a very disturbed individual, could it because they lost something dear she could only guess but right now she was not going to back down.

Kneeling down beside the child she smiled.

"Hello little Percy" she said kindly for he was the fifth child to go missing, Percy as he cried looked up at her while tears ran down his face.

"Y-you can see me?" The child's voice only eerie because he was dead, Hope nodded softly.

"Don't be afraid Percy I am only here to help, I need to know where everyone is. Do you know where your bodies are being kept. Do you know who did this?" She asked softly but was the only response was tears.

"H-he was a scary man, he seemed nice but then he took out something shiny. I only remember being hurt and everything going dark" the boy hiccupped as he cried, rubbing his eyes while he spoke. Hearing this broke Hope's heart but this only steeled her resolve to capture the killer. This man was disturbed and was going to continue no matter what, maybe he was a worker she didn't know.

"LOOK OUT!" The boy shrieked in horror causing Hope to immediately grab her gun, turned while diving to the floor and fired. Her ears were greeted with a low grunt like scream before she saw a black haired man gripping his right shoulder thanks to the fact she had shot him. Biting her lip she glared even though it was dark enough for her not to ID him.

"That's him! He did it!" The boy cried as he hid behind her as she propped herself on her elbows.

"Back away now sir or else I'll shoot" she warned "it's over now so put your hands up" as she saw blood leaving his wound, no doubt the bullet was lodged in his shoulder.

The man glared as he moved his hand away from his injury and moved forward after taking out a bloody object which could be recognised as the knife Percy had been telling her about.

"Back off!" She warned loudly before firing near his head, he paused and smirked to her shock as he without showing signs of pain charged at her. Hope immediately rolled to one side and was now back on her feet, just as. She was about to run.

"AAAAAAARRRRRGGG!" Hope went pale from the most bone chilling scream, even the man had stopped but it had given her time to run knowing that if she had died the things she found out would be erased forever. She was no coward, no she was a rationalist and knew better to bite more than she could chew. She felt bad for leaving Percy behind but she will come back for him... him and those innocent children.

* * *

Cinder looked at a police article that had been made public thirty years ago with a frown, it didn't make sense that. This replica would be built but curiosity filled the nineteen year old. No one could locate the one who had made the scream that night but some had just ruled it off as active imagination, the only people who didn't think so were her and the officer who was almost killed twice on the line of duty. Instead the officer claimed that it was a cover up resulting in the woman who had seen the killer to be laughed at by a few groups, however there were some who believed the woman. Unfortunately despite the support she had the officer was not thrown out of the police force, but the woman on the second day she was almost killed but had located the bodies, her source on the other hand though was unknown causing some to accuse her of murder and conspiracy but was cleared immediately thanks to evidence being on her side.

Cinder bit her lip as she looked at the woman in the picture with neutral eyes. It wasn't over, something told her otherwise and she was going to heed her gut. No it was all getting started and she was determined to find the truth after all the one who was arrested had no gun shot injuries to his right shoulder!


	3. Chapter 2

Cinder yawned as she entered the security room with her green canned energy drink in hand, placing the security uniform and her jacket on her chair she soon placed her long strapped shoulder bag on the table and grabbed the tablet in order to turn it on. Cinder ruffled the back of her ponytail with a weary look as she typed in the password. According to the boss she was suppose to stay here in this room but taking the tablet for a birds eye view as she explored on foot wouldn't hurt anyone since it allowed her to spot any issues and respond accordingly. She was never a desk person to her embarrassment but it was useful at times since the camera doesn't show everything in a 3D perspective, which meant that anything could happen.

Taking a swig of her drink Cinder was about to go out the room until she heard a phone ringing on the table.

"Hello hello? Dudette?" Cinder rolled her eyes from who was on the answering machine, of course...

"Pick up dudette are you at the office yet?" He asked almost sounding impatient causing her to sigh and pick up the phone.

"Hello Terrance, is there a problem?" She asked politely while gritting her teeth so she didn't snap at him for annoying her.

"Heeey you are there! How are you?" He asked in a chipper voice, just hearing that tone left her more irritated enough to scream.

"Just booting up the tablet, is there a problem?" She asked as she unlocked the tablet allowing her to see the main screen but didn't press the icon for the camera or systems yet.

"Yeah remember that tape I was taking about? Well I am going to play one now since I thought that you would be interested, really though these are vintage tapes and I am sure that they were used for training. Pretty neat huh?" he asked eagerly causing her to roll her eyes at his enthusiasm.

"I'm sure" she replied bluntly as she sat down on her chair.

"Don't be like dudette when I heard them it left me thinking that I was there on the phone with him" Terrance drawled, meanwhile she frowned at his sudden choice of words.

"Huh...oh okay you can play one if you want" she said while conceding defeat.

"Awesome dudette I'll play the first one now" he said before she heard a click, the next thing she heard was a shy like voice to her surprise before the voice changed to acting into a more professional tone. As she listened her eyes narrowed from thought from how things could have easily gone wrong but kept quiet.

"Well dudette what do you think?" Terrance asked eagerly.

"It's...interesting" Cinder muttered softly as she tried to make of what she had heard.

"Interesting good or bad?" He asked sounding curious causing her to exhale loudly.

"Terrance I have to work now otherwise Mr. Blaw will get mad at us for just chatting the whole time during my shift" she said weakly.

"Thought you could use the company since it's only you in the security room" Terrance said casually.

"I have work bye" she muttered darkly before hanging up, silence entered the room leaving Cinder with a sense of ease. "Finally..." she looked at her tablet weakly before pushing the chair back, now standing up she ignored her security costume and began her walk.

* * *

Looking at the other cameras at various times she had also managed the audio, ventilation and cameras when they started to act up. To her relief the ventilation was fine so there was never a cause for concern. So far everything checked out and there were no intruders which meant she could hand in a positive feedback.

As she walked through the rooms she came across the room she had slipped in and paused, Cinder bit her lip as she looked at the door containing nails by the walls on either side. Why would someone barricade the door was a mystery in itself but something told her to go inside, however her feet refused to move to her surprise. Swallowing thickly she slowly moved one foot in front of the other until she was close to the door, Cinder after pausing lifted her hand up to grab the doorknob. Why did just going through inside scare her? It was only an animatronic so why would she be unnerved? Turning the doorknob slowly she was greeted with a loud squeaky noise, just hearing it made the hairs on her neck go up as it almost sounded like nails down a chalkboard thanks to how old it was. No doubt it needed a lot of oil to make it sound better.

Biting her lip she pulled the door open and was greeted by darkness, just seeing that left her wondering if it was a good thing to be relieved of the blanket of darkness or not. Not that she was scared of the dark but the unknown could almost set anyone one edge.

Increasing the brightness of her tablet she used it as a flashlight to see what was in there the moment she set foot into the room. So far there wasn't anything out of the ordinary until she paused suddenly on a spot in the corner of the far right room on the opposite side of the vent. Where was the rabbit?


	4. Chapter 3

Running Cinder was in a state of panic, her brain however did not process that she was running even as her lungs burned from the lack of air from not stopping. How could this happen? When did this happen? Sure the cameras weren't in the room but surely she should have been able to detect such things like this happening. So how-when did the animatronic go missing? Was it before she entered the building? If so she would have to contact Mr. Blaw for help since this was theft.

* * *

Hope bit her lip as she stared at her files before throwing the one she was reading on the floor, it was about nine in the evening and only a fair few were left in the building.

"Nothing… I don't understand, the bodies have to be in there somewhere and the only one who knows is the little boy and the murderer" she muttered faintly while placing a hand to her face, a sigh left her lips as she slowly placed her hand down on her lap. Hope looked at the window and frowned as a sigh left her lips. Going in there as the police was definitely a no no since she could get spotted again and no doubt the killer will be smart enough to hide the evidence. Not only that but the killer hadn't admitted himself to the hospital according to all the hospitals in the area leaving her with a dead end. Hope knew that if she were to return she would have to hide her identity somehow. But what kind of cover could she have though? Should she go with a child however, who was to say that the child would not get caught and killed as well? So then there what idea could she have? It's not like she could go in as a member of staff, after all if the killer was a worker in the pizzeria then he would spot her… unless she didn't look like herself.

Looking at the mirror Hope's honey brown eyes stared back at her with the same unease and conflict. What if she didn't look like herself?

That was it!

Getting up she walked to her boss' room and knocked a few times causing him to look up.

"Sir, I might have an idea" she said pushing any ounce of fear in her voice, this was for the kids and parents. The families suffered enough and the truth had to come out. The killer had to be caught even if she had to take him down with her.

* * *

Cinder arrived at the security room before looking at the cameras by flipping through each one like a mad person as she sat down. Someone had to be in the rooms, the rabbit must still be here. No one could have taken it without being spotted. No one, it's not like Terrance could have taken it since Mr. Blaw would have been in the facility. So when could it have gone missing?

Chewing frantically on her bottom lip she immediately grabbed the phone from it's resting place and began flipping through contact details on a notebook beside the phone cradle until she saw Mr. Blaw's number. She hesitated since what were the chances that he would believe her? He could easily say that it was her fault however now wasn't the time to scare herself. She had to know.

Flipping through the cameras by swiping with one finger she used the other hand to hold the phone after dialing his number, her ear soon picked up the dialing tone.

"Hello?" asked a tired voice that left Cinder biting her lip as she saw that it was about three in the morning. A bad time to call but it was too late to turn back and hang up, he was on the phone now.

"S-Sorry to disturb you sir but I think I have a problem" Cinder replied as she looked at the cameras only to frown as the cameras went offline, which meant that she had to reboot them once again.

"Who is this?" Mr. Blaw asked gruffly sounding like he was half asleep.

"It's Cinder" she replied looking hesitant even though she was on the phone, she then heard him groaning and then the sound of bed springs could be heard from the phone for a bit.

"What seems to be the problem? Although it is rather late to call me so it must be important" he commented before yawning.

"I understand sir, but I think something has been stolen" she heard silence on the line causing her hands to go clammy from sweat thanks to the nerves that crept into her.

"Stolen?" he asked lowly, his tone suggesting that she had better not be playing around given the time and the fact that she was suppose to be working.

"Yes… it appears the animatronic that we have stored in one of the uncovered rooms is missing" Cinder replied biting her lip furiously before freezing as she saw a mysterious shadow in one of the cameras that was near the security room much to her dread. Her heart started beating frantically as she immediately grew cold, her hand tightened on the phone as it was her only lifeline that prevented her from passing out, why was it getting harder to breathe in here?

"-inder? Cinder are you there?!" Mr Blaw yelled but she didn't respond. "CINDER!" his louder screams startled her enough for her to release a blood curling scream.

"SOMEONE'S IN THE BUILDING!" Cinder screamed in terror as her heart shot into her throat before she fell off her chair when she moved to the side, tears immediately ran down her face and she almost dropped the phone but kept hold of it due to reflex. Pain shot through her side but she ignored it while looking at the shadow. Oh no who was it? Was it a crazy person or something? Was it dare she believe it Terrance? No he wasn't stupid and she would have seriously hurt him for that stunt, that and Mr. Blaw would have fired him for causing such a stunt.

"Cinder, who is in the building? Cinder?!" Mr. Blaw yelled now sounding angry if not anxious, all traces of fatigue left his voice as he tried to get her to reply. Cinder slowly moved away from her chair as she slowly tried to stand up causing its back to roll and crash on the ground, in her slightly reddened hand was the cordless phone as she squeezed it so tightly that some colour disappeared due to the strain. The shadow was getting closer to the room.

"There's someone coming here, I don't know who it is but they know where the cameras are!" Cinder panicked as she continued to hyperventilate, her ears ignoring the sound of her breathing and the loud beeping noises that filled the room due to how scared she was at that moment. It was probably the cameras again but right now there was no point because who ever was in the building with her no doubt was anything but friendly.

"Cinder pull yourself together! Can you try to see who it is? Cinder can you hear me? The alarm is going off what is going on in there? Hello?!" Cinder dropped the phone as she moved back a few steps, her eyes still on the door to her left but she didn't notice the missing phone as the alarm blocked the sound of it hitting the ground. Why was someone in the building? How did they get in more importantly?

Cinder gripped her chest with her right hand as it became harder to breathe in the room for some reason, even panicking took so much air to the point that she was getting light headed and ended up collapsing as her knees buckled suddenly buckled due the lack of strength to keep them up. All Cinder could hear at that moment was the sound of the alarms and her heavy breathing, her eyes slowly became unfocused to the point that she could see was a dark shapeless form that looked like a leg, looking up slowly but weakly all she saw was a shapeless figure thanks to the constant flashing red light.

"H…lp" she feebly forced out before darkness slowly filled her sight.

" _Am I going to die?_ " were her only thoughts for she was unable to know if she was breathing anymore the moment she had passed out.


	5. Chapter 4

"Sure you should be working again dudette?" Cinder jumped looking clearly startled after being given the green light by the doctor two days after her passing out.

"I am fine" Cinder said stiffly as she folded her arms and kept her eyes anywhere but directed at the male speaking, Terrance wasn't convinced as he stared at her from the entrance to the security room.

"Fine? Dudette you were found passed out, Mr. Blaw had even called the police and ambulance when you called him. Do you know how scared you made everyone?" he asked sternly as he walked closer.

"It's not like I wanted to do that" Cinder said crossly as she folded her arms, irritation filled her as her father berated her for being in hospital but she told him nothing except that she passed out due to being startled. Not that he would believe her lie so quickly.

"So what was it that you saw anyways?" he asked now losing his usual upbeat tone startling Cinder since he was always lax and carefree, she soon bit her lip as she looked away once more.

"Like I told the police, all I saw was a shadow even the cameras showed that someone was in the building but I couldn't make the person out because they were hidden. Almost as if they knew where the camera blind spots were" Cinder replied sounding cross with herself for not seeing who it was. Terrance nodded as he processed her words.

"If you want I can take over or at least work with you if you feel-"

"No no, I'll be fine. I was just startled" she interrupted "I want to continue my job, it was probably a punk who was trying to be smart and cause trouble" Cinder waved it off but Terrance wasn't buying it, her left hand was shaking under her right hand and she was biting her lip more than usual.

"If anything happens, call me alright? Don't let yourself get forced into a situation that could get you hurt" he said while placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay to be scared but hopefully the joker have learned his lesson and decided not to come back"

"It's a shame really" Cinder said softly causing his eyebrows to go up in surprise.

"Oh?"

"I was going to ask Mr Blaw if he could get someone to fix the animatronic, it looked in really bad shape" she said softly causing him to frown.

"It's just a prop dudette, we can try to recreate one or something. But a life isn't replaceable" Cinder nodded in agreement while keeping her eyes on the floor.

"Still, it was in such bad shape. I wonder why they locked it up in that room where it was made to go through years of neglect?" she muttered softly to herself.

"Just focus on yourself and the nights ahead okay? Call me at least if you need help but make sure you hide when you're doing it, there are some hiding spots in the room" he commented stiffly. Cinder nodded, looking at the door with anxious eyes Cinder entered. Terrance sighed heavily as he watched her go before shaking his head at her stubbornness, he wouldn't lie but he was truly worried about her after their boss informed him of her incident. Just imagining what she went through no doubt would have traumatized anyone whether they had a thick skin or not. Just as he was about to go he paused as a sudden chill filled him causing the male to look behind him to see nothing, seeing nothing made Terrance frown. That was weird…

"Wonder what that was" he muttered before looking back at the security room, maybe he should keep watch just in case.

* * *

Cinder bit her lip as she looked at the cameras when she swiped the screen, sighing heavily she looked around before getting up. A little look around to make sure everything was okay wouldn't hurt.

As she explored the area, nothing seemed out of place. She saw the Foxy head with light coming out of its eyes creating an eerie look to it, she touched the cool but rusty metal texture with a thoughtful look on her face. To think this would become of Foxy the pirate, it was a sad fate indeed.

Looking back at the cameras via the tablet she also checked the maintenance panel to see everything was good, maybe she was imagining things after all. Shaking her head Cinder resumed her search of the place before heading back to the office and immediately sat down. It was definitely quiet and lonely here causing her to frown and look at her phone.

"Maybe some music won't hurt after all it's not like anything is going to pop out right?" she asked herself lightly before playing a random song from her phone, the music itself had an upbeat but cheerful tune that left her humming slightly to the actual music. Soon a smile formed itself on her lips as she moved her head from side to side while checking the panel again to see that the cameras needed rebooting and did it without complaint. She could do this!

She just had to take things one step at a time and not allow herself to be scared, no think calm rational thoughts, even if there was an intruder where could they go and why even come here? It's not like they were doing anything since according to the police and Mr. Blaw nothing had been taken so what did the person want?

She hummed and sang some of the lyrics with a smile.

"Sweet child don't cry, have faith and confidence to stand on your own two feet because-" Cinder went immediately still as she saw something peeking into the room. Something that looked really familiar, something that had dirty yellow on it. Her eyes went wide as a scream bubbled in her throat but didn't make a sound as her phone continued to play the tune. Fear immediately crept in but she dared not move or make a sound for if she did, she was sure that she would immediately regret it.

It couldn't be…

No it was missing so why was it here?

That is unless someone had been playing a prank but who could it have been? The doors were all locked so it was only her and the animatronic, that is unless someone had snuck in before lockdown. But wearing the suit would be suicide given that the locks could malfunction and kill someone, it was only thanks to the tapes that she was able to find out about the spring suits as they were called back then.

Why was it standing there though? Peeking inside-looking at her with soulless eyes? What did it want? Why was it even active or even moving when it was suppose to be empty?

Had Terrance or someone decided to pull a prank? Looking at the maintenance panel from the corner of her eye, all systems were green so then…?

Cinder shook slightly as she watched it, what seemed like forever her lips parted slowly. Her breathing shuddered quietly as she observed it from where she was sitting.

"H-Hello?" she asked scared from what the outcome could be if she did break the silence, to Cinder's surprise-it left.


	6. Chapter 5

"What you are suggesting is suicide! I won't allow it" the man said angrily as he looked at Hope.

"But if I don't get in there somehow without attracting attention, then how can we catch the killer or find the kids?" she asked looking at him with desperation in her eyes. The head sighed heavily as he looked at her.

"Hope, you are one the best officers. Heck your gift is what's given us justice for people who have been unable to find closure. We can't lose you to this mad man" the man said with a stern look on his face, his worry continued to be masked as he watched her grit her teeth in frustration.

"Then what do you suggest we do? We're running out of time and the killer could strike again or heaven forbid flee! This is our only shot sir and I'm willing to take the risk if it means catching him" Hope snapped, she had a point "besides I'll be changing my appearance, there is no way that I can get caught unless someone rats me out" she said with determination.

"Please sir, we can't let this go on. A mother committed suicide thanks to the incident at Freddy's Diner a while ago and I am sure that this killer is connected. You cannot say that this isn't a coincidence" she added as she gave him a look that left him sweating.

"F-Fine Hope, but I mean it! If anything happens pull out, I don't care how you feel about it your life is more valuable so don't throw it away" he said causing her to finally smile.

"Thank you Cain" she said with a kind smile on her face, relief filled her knowing that he had her back.

* * *

Cinder was still in a daze throughout the night, to think that she had spoken to the animatronic. It had stood there and stared at her with no lidded eyes, it looked really damaged now that she got a good look at some of its form. Part of her then wanted to get up and chase it but the alarm for the camera needing to be rebooted entered her ears. Cinder could always try to find it now that she knew it was still in the building, wait it was what?

"Oh what a relief!" She sighed loudly as she slumped on her chair causing her ankles and heels to kiss the floor, her arms rested on the arms of the chair knowing that crisis was averted but if that was true...how was it moving? It didn't look like anyone was in there or she would have seen parts of the person and yet there was nothing except things that looked dried up which could have been metal parts that were ruined thanks to the water. How was she going to explain this to her boss though?

Pushing her tied up hair from the band up she groaned knowing that the talk wasn't going to end well, moving springlock suits? It was impossible and yet that's what it looked like. So did that mean it was moving on its own? Then again there had been reports of the other animatronics in the previous locations.

" _Someone has stolen one of the suits! It was one of the yellow ones and now none of them are acting right!_ " a man who use to be a security man had claimed as the message had been recording when a security officer who was doing a night shift that evening years ago, his voice displayed terror compared to the other recordings. No calm composure, no silly comments or remarks, not even his tone. No his tone was filled with worry and terror to her surprise. Biting her lip Cinder took her own tablet from her bag she checked the ventilation before pressing play on her tablet.

"I had infiltrated the pizzeria but so far nothing was out of the ordinary, although two weeks have passed and I noticed that there was a really bad smell that reminds me of decaying bodies coming from the animatronics. I couldn't find Percy since I ran away from the killer that night, but I swear I will find out why this happened. If these audio tapes were ever to be found by someone... Cain I think the animatronics are the key, there is a night guard who shares my concern after I gained the trust of some of the day and night guards who I have met at times. They were kind enough to tell me that some odd things like the animatronics were walking about a night, a few guards who worked night shifts either were attacked or admitted to a psychiatric hospital because of what they witnessed. I had even asked the current guard about whether there was a worker who was acting either shady or had problems with their shoulder, but I remained discrete after all who knows if he is allies with the killer or would go and speak to him. Warning the killer that I am on to him" a female voice said in the recording, Cinder as she listened frowned from what she hearing but kept quiet in case she missed anything vital.

"I copied the blueprints of the area and marked where I shot the killer with an x, Unfortunately I could not get the blood splatter area tested but knowing that he could still have the bullet will give me hope in knowing that I can spot him acting out of place. There is no way that he could get that bullet out without severely damaging his shoulder since it's in a certain part of the bone, one false move and he could bleed to death. I have recorded all the security man's calls when no one was around for evidence to see if he was suspicious, so far he is clean but I will give my report soon. I am just going to take a look at Bonnie because he looks more dirty and smelly then the others" Cinder heard a click before sighing heavily, she bit her lip before swiping the screen until there was a file that said security recording tapes.

A low growl like noise causing her to turn and look at the left door, blinking she saw the rabbit which according to research was Spring Bonnie also known as Golden Bonnie to some. Could it be that it was one of the spring suits that went missing that night on the final message?

Her eyes shone curiously as she observed the animatronic's behaviour, it was just peering at the side of the door almost in a child like manner leaving her to smile at how cute it looked despite looks being deceptive.

"Sorry was I being too loud?" She asked lightly not feeling that scared now that she did some research on the animatronic. It just stared at her not moving or reacting, then again that was normal since it was just an animatronic it wasn't human nor did it have feelings but she always did imagine that non living things could think and feel. What would they say and think she often wondered? What feelings would they show? It was a mystery in itself. Oddly enough she wasn't the first one to have taken this job since the few before her ended up either missing or went mad. Was it because of this animatronic or was it the system going faulty? After all the bigwigs did overdo it with the building making it unsafe for almost anyone inside.

Seeing that it wasn't moving or reacting she giggled slightly until she heard the alarm for the ventilation go off and bit her lip since it was dangerous for the air to be cut off for any reason.

"Just one minute please" she said softly to the animatronic before turning her attention to the work tablet and began to reboot the system. The animatronic however just stared at her blankly, wasn't she afraid of it? Why was she being causal when others have screamed in terror or fled? Not that they would get far to begin with. It continued to watch as she sighed in relief as she leaned back on her chair.

"Done" she smiled before turning to look at it. It could easily overpower her and kill her and yet… something kept screaming not to, it was like an annoying noise- a pull that kept nagging. It would be so easy to snap her neck, to do something that would make her disappear like it did to the other guards. No one should be here, no one unless they didn't value their lives and yet here she was acting all calm and smiling without a care in the world.

"Sorry about that" the rabbit looked up at her and stared at her calm face, for some odd reason it felt like jumping while feeling an odd emotion as it realised that she was right in front of it's face. Why not do it now?! What was going on? Just do it!

' **Don't do it!** ' A part of it screamed again, it made no sense for it to be conflicted. Who was she? How did she do this to him? Part of him wanted to end her and yet curiosity filled it from her mannerisms. She was an odd human indeed.

"You have a very funny spirit, did you die in the suit sir?" Cinder asked almost looking child like as she tilted her head shyly.


	7. Chapter 6

" _Something is wrong with me, I should be dead… and yet-_ "

If the rabbit could make it's eyes go wide, it would certainly make them do just that. If it had a heart, that vital organ would have just stopped from shock.

H-How did she know?!

"Are you okay-hey wait!" Cinder cried in alarm as she watched him run away from her. It had to leave! This was impossible! No one knew-no one SHOULD have known about him being dead in the suit. How did she find out?

The same questions kept forming and changing slightly, some repetitive some similar but had the same meaning to the questions. It didn't understand and that's what scared the rabbit animatronic.

* * *

Cinder bit her lip as she watched with sad eyes, for an animatronic though… it sure ran in a bulky odd manner, leaving her cross between laughing or tilting her head in confusion as it almost looked in a way to be square dancing or something similar. But the fact remained clear- there was definitely a soul stuck in the animatronic. Did that mean it's body- what's left of it was stuck inside as well? Just thinking about this made her worry while sadness filled her. What a cruel way to die, especially when the locks can kill without mercy if water touched any of delicate traps.

What also surprised her was the soul was that of a man in around what could have been in his thirties or forties, she couldn't tell but he no doubt wasn't expecting her to say something like that. Cinder sighed as she sat back on her chair with a near frown like look, it was always the same even when she was younger.

" _Look there's a squirrel over there eating stuff from where the old man was sitting!_ " Cinder had cried out with glee once when she was about the age of eight.

" _What are you talking about?" a boy asked looking at the bench Cinder was looking at._

 _"Stupid! There's nothing there, it's all in your head!" a girl had said coldly as she stared at Cinder before pushing her to the floor._

" _So stupid!_ " _another girl said coldly._

" _But I can see him, the squirrel is near his feet eating a nut_ " _Cinder had said as she stood up and stomped her right foot in defiance, she could see them even if the others couldn't but why act like this? Why couldn't they see them like she could?_

" _Get it through your thick skull! There's nothing there, it's all in your head! So shut up and go a way you creepy brat!_ " _a second boy spat coldly as he folded his arms._

 _"Freak!" The first girl snapped before the others joined in causing tears to run down her face, they were wrong! She wasn't a freak! Why couldn't they just accept it?_

Biting her lip she looked at the room before checking on the systems, so far she couldn't spot the rabbit causing her to sigh.

" _Trouble?_ " a kind voice entered Cinder's mind as she closed her eyes and leaned back on her chair, soon the room changed into a modern sized kitchen with a woman dabbing a cloth with some water onto what Cinder remembered was her lip after she had been sent to the gravel filled floor. Which did not feel pleasant one bit.

" _Mummy why can't people see what we see? Are we really freaks?_ " there was so much Cinder could take even at that age given how the other children would either avoid her or call her names as they picked on her for being different. The woman pursed her lips as she heard the last word.

" _No Cynthia, we are anything but freaks_ " the woman smiled softly as she treated the cut only to hear a hiss from Cinder's lips _._ " _People do not understand what they can see and some end up being mean because they don't understand, they're scared and see you as something they want to vent their anger out on. They're scared of the unknown and what people say_ " Cinder remembered tilting her head a bit.

" _But mum, your boss doesn't call you a freak!_ " Cinder had cried out as she pouted looking frustrated.

" _Because he understands, he was scared at first I admit"_ her mother had said with a sigh _"but after seeing how what I could do could help those in need he was more than willing to allow me as long as it didn't get me seriously hurt_ " her mother commented with a chuckle, Cinder frowned.

 _"But you got hurt loads of times"_ Cinder commented causing her mother to chuckle weakly.

 _"That he won't let me live down_ " her mother admitted as she shook her head before patting Cinder's head lovingly.

 _"But what happened_?" Cinder asked cutely as she stared at her mother, her mother paused before sighing with her eyes closed.

 _"I'll tell you when you're older… right now I just want this peace to last for as long as possible"_ her mother said with a soft smile as she rested her head on Cinder's.

"I know mother… I understand now" Cinder said softly as she opened her eyes and looked at the tablet with a withered look. "Even though you wanted to raise me, how could you when there was a killer on the loose?" she asked softly as she stared at the picture shown in the tablet. There in the picture contained a woman with dirty blond hair and honey coloured eyes, her hair was wavy but had been done up. The woman had a white dress like shirt and a greenish blue skirt. Her eyes showed mirth as she grinned while holding a little girl who was about nine who unlike the woman had black hair, their eyes and wavy hair being one of the things that showed they were related. Hugging the pair was a man with black hair and green eyes who had a wide smile on his face. Just seeing this picture left her feeling warm before the feeling left, the killer was still out and her mother had stopped at nothing even if it meant being put onto a white bed while showing no signs of waking up. It was only when Cinder had turned fifteen when her mother had been put into that dreaded coma thanks to the life threatening injuries caused by the killer she had been tracking. Her mother had been close but the man had outwitted her at the last minute, her father had been unable to do anything except sneak out of work one day just to see her given that they were dating back then. Only to find out when he arrived was that she had almost died that day. He had shown up just to see her getting stabbed in the stomach by someone who he could not recognize due to it being dark. The person had ran but instead of going after them the father had went to tend to her mother.

" _You did what you thought was right_ " her mother had said just a few weeks before the incident took place placing her in a coma, Cinder being curious listened near the door.

 _"But he got away! If I had-"_

 _"Then I wouldn't be here Damien"_ the woman said with a loud sigh. _"You have no idea of how grateful I was, yes I couldn't stop him but I know he's out there"_

 _"Hope for heaven's sake! A person was arrested and he was either innocent or was a conspirer"_ Damien threw his arms up in anger as he glared at her calm expression.

 _"He was innocent no matter how many times I tried to explain, but there was no proof except there is no scar on his shoulder"_ Hope bit her lip as she stared at him.

 _"And that's their word against yours, but what else is there to? We have to move away or he'll come back to finish what he started"_ He exclaimed in frustration, he was fed up. He wanted his family alive and safe but how could they when they were living in the same area as the killer. It was madness!

 _"What?!"_ she screamed in anger now giving him her full attention.

 _"You heard me Hope! You are treading too deep and it's going to put Cynthia in danger- us your family in danger! Don't you care_?" Damien yelled now reaching breaking point after dealing with this case for over nine years.

 _"Of course I care! But those families who have been broken because of this mad man! I won't rest until he's been caught! We're done talking about this"_ her voice laced with venom and anger as she stormed out the kitchen just seconds after Cinder snuck back into her room to prevent getting caught.

Cinder even now had wished she had done something because she remembered her mother blindly working, not coming home until late into the night. She could still remember her father's frustration when she didn't call to let them know if she was okay or not, the next nights as a result were filled with arguments until the third week and that was when Cinder and her father had been left worried- her mother hadn't returned home, nor had she called during that time and to make it worse it had been more than twenty four hours.

It was then that they found out that she had been attacked and had no ID on her so no one could identify her, this was most likely thanks to the attacker. But it didn't take a genius to figure out who it was and knowing that encouraged Cinder to research her mother's case. She wanted the killer to be behind bars just as much as the families and her father did, however her father had warned not to get involved as he did not want to lose her like he had lost her mother. What he didn't know was that she had gone behind his back and chose to work at Freddy's Fright as a night guard, as she worked the night shift while she slowly tried to gather as much data and knowledge so she could figure out who the killer was. Even his identity could be useful but so far she was hitting dead ends. The only link she had was 'Percy' who was one of the children who had been killed.

Cinder placed a hand to her head and sighed before looking at the tablet again.

"I promise I'll solve your case… he won't get away with this" she muttered darkly.

"Who won't?" Cinder's spine straightened up as she locked the tablet and turned to look at the person who startled them, her eyes narrowed.

"For heaven sake Terrance don't sneak up on me" She hissed as she packed away her stuff, ignoring his looks as she moved a lock of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear.

"Well you looked troubled dudette so-"

"Whether I am is none of your business" she spat "Anyways it's late I'm going home" she said sternly as she went to leave the room.

"Actually I wanted to talk" he said while following her through the hallway causing her to bite the inside of her cheek.

"About what?" She asked bluntly as she gripped her bag strap tightly.

"Why did you choose to work here?" She paused from the question, why was he asking now? "After all it's history isn't that good, people have had issues with this role and yet given what you've been through. You still want to come back... it doesn't make any sense to me, most would run for the hills with what they've went through" he added as he scratched the back of his head. Cinder ignored him and walked continued her walk towards the exit, she was not going to retaliate or answer. It wasn't his business and no one was going to get involved, her father didn't know and if someone had found out who knows what would happen to her. Her mother's boss had no idea of what she was up to and no doubt would stop her without hesitation. No… for her mother, she was willing to catch the criminal even if it means doing her own investigation. She wasn't breaking an entry like she would have tried before and this in a way gave her more time to explore, whether this was the actual place or not in where her mother shot the killer it would be a good place to start… as long as THAT guy stayed well away.

"Hey don't walk away, I just want to talk dudette" Terrance said sounding weary as he followed her.

"I have nothing to say, I just want to go home" Cinder said as she spotted light near a set of doors, just seeing them left her itching to run chose not to since that would be pointless and would attract unwanted attention.

"Oh don't be like that, why are you acting like this? It's not like you have anything to hide?" he said sounding like he was teasing her in some way but Cinder was in no mood to joke about since she was tired.

"I have just had a long night, can I please just go home in peace?" She asked with a heavy sigh.

"Sure dudette, I'll come with ya"

"No!" She turned to glare at him shocking him to the spot. "I want to go home alone so stop following me" she snapped before turning on her heels and walked out, this time alone.

As she exited the building she winced as she bumped into something to her left.

"S-Sorry" she said not looking at the person as she walked past, what she didn't see if she had looked at the hand that caught her before she almost tripped were purple fingers.

* * *

"Good morning Cynthia, how was your sleepover?" her father asked with a wide smile as he hugged a tired Cinder gently, Cinder smiled but in a sleepy manner as she returned the hug.

"It was nice" Cinder said with a kind smile before sighing from fatigue which was noticed by her father.

"Didn't sleep much?" he asked causing her to have a lopsided smile.

"Nah, but I'll catch up on it now if that's okay dad?" she asked while looking up at him from the banister, her father raised a brow as he stared at her tired form.

"Dare I ask why you've not had much sleep?" he asked with a stern look only to pause as he saw her tense expression.

"Mum…" that left them both somber given the situation.

"Is that why I got a call from the hospital about you being found deprived of oxygen?" he said before placing his hands on his hips, his expression beyond happy. Cinder bit her lip as she looked at him weakly. "Cinder what in the world are you doing in that building?" he demanded feeling fury enter his system but kept calm for their sakes, he wanted answers and snapping would not help anyone.

"I was trying to find out about what happened to mum, if she had been attacked in the building, if she had been then I was hoping that I could spot the location of where the blood that came from the killer wen-"

"Cinder we've talked about this!" he snapped now losing his cool.

"But you use to work in that building as a security guard!" this made him pause before he gritted his teeth in anger. "It's where you met mum and you even went as far-"

"And look where it got her huh? She's in a coma! She might never wake up again" he snapped angrily now wishing he could break something, of all the dumbest things for his daughter to do!

"If that is true then why are you allowing her to remain on life support? The doctors have even said that there is no hope so why do you bother?" she responded dryly while giving him a cold look.

"Because this is your mother! She- she can come back even when things seemed bleak" he yelled before covering his mouth, shock could be seen through his eyes as he stared at his daughter.

"That's what I thought" she muttered darkly, her eyes never leaving him "she risked a lot to try and find this killer and yet instead of trying to help like you did before you're burying your head in the sand-"

"Now that is not fair!" He snapped angrily as he grabbed her wrist stopping her from leaving "I am a father and I have a job to protect my wife and child"

"And what about the other families who have lost their children huh? Do they not deserve justice?" Damien's hand went slack as he stared at her with heavy eyes.

"You're just like your mother" he murmured softly before realising what he had said.

"I would rather be my mother than a coward who just thinks that running away when others are losing their loved ones- as one would say the ends justify the means? What kind of logic is that? What kind of person turns a blind eye to those who need help? The killer might have gone quiet but mum is fighting for her life and until he is caught I won't rest" she said sharply to his dismay. "Even if the bullet in the shoulder is a false lead? The fact that mum even marked the guy is enough for me to gain some kind of idea of where to look"

"The killer's shoulder must have healed by now Cynthia" he said weakly.

"But his grudge was still there otherwise why even go after mother? He knew that she was hunting him down and yet he stayed, he could have left the area but he hasn't I believe that he's still here...waiting for a chance to strike" Cinder said with a frown only this made him go pale.

"Then we'll have to leave" he said now biting his lip and looked away causing her to frown even more.

"And why's that?" She asked coldly not happy with his words, after all she was not going anywhere.

"He knows I helped her, he was in the establishment and even though I couldn't tell who he was or his name. The fact is he knows my face and he'll come after you to just to get to me" Cinder scoffed crossly.

"As if!" She spat shocking him. "You've no doubt changed and have worked in a different job area. I highly doubt that he would go after you dad and if you are worried then we should call mum's boss" she said while placing her hands on her hips, taking a deep breath the father sighed heavily.

"Y-You're right, but I still don't want you working there"

"But daddy" she whined weakly.

"No buts! You could have died" he said sternly ignoring her whining.

"And yet I didn't" she countered as she stared at him.

"It was luck!" He said sharply.

"No I think it wasn't" she said with a tilt of her head, could it be though? Seeing her expression confused her father.

"Oh really?" he asked but didn't look convinced.

"Yeah... daddy you remember the spring lock suits?" This made him pause.

"How could I forget those death traps? One was stolen" he said stiffly as he remembered a few issues with one of them but was thankful to NOT wear them at all.

"Well... I think I know where one went" she said with a sheepish smile that left him boggled.

"What?" He said loudly without meaning to "what do you mean by that?"

"Well..." she smiled weakly "I saw the spirit of a man in a Spring Bonnie suit in an abandoned area that was locked up" Damien's jaw went slack.

"Repeat that" he said, his voice almost shaking.

"He's possessing the Spring Bonnie suit" she added in the same tone as she saw his petrified expression knowing that wasn't a good sign.

"And you're still alive?!" He cried in horror remembering all the issues with the other animatronics who had attacked the night guards before him. In fact he was lucky to be in one piece at all, then again that could have been Hope's doing since she like Cynthia could see things others could not. Not that he was complaining.

"Well, he did seem nice and he was a bit funny even if it was unintentional" she said with a soft smile that took him more by surprise.

"What exactly did he do that was funny?" Cinder chuckled lightly leaving him more suspicious.

"He peeked his head into the room almost looking like a little kid as he held the side of the door with one hand" she replied with a smile. Her father however just stood there feeling a migraine coming a long, unbelievable...

"I need a drink" he muttered as he rubbed his head lightly and went to get a glass of water, seeing this made her chuckle before she yawned.

"Go to your room and sleep already" he waved her off causing her to smile "oh and don't ever lie or hide something like this again" he said darkly causing her smile to grow knowing that was a green light.

"Okay" she beamed before going to her room for sleep.

Damien watched he go before sighing as he looked at the picture of his family before the incident.

"Just like you Hope, I think a little too much like you" he muttered softly with fond eyes, "I am worried thought, what if he comes here? I don't want to lose her like I lost you. Please Hope come back to us soon, I... I don't know what to do anymore" he added wearily before sipping the rest of his drink.


	8. Chapter 7

_"Hey mum... it's me, Cynthia. Can you hear me?"_

 _The hand felt cold despite being in a warm room, the only noise heard was the machines monitoring and keeping the sleeping woman alive._ _Just seeing her like this almost broke Cinder's heart but she held on as she bit her lip. If anything this only steeled her resolve to find her mother's attacker._

Cinder sighed as she entered the building, today in more ways than one felt exhausting but then again this day for the past four to five years were no exception. Although it had been one day since she last saw the rabbit, it had been quiet if not lonely since she was in a way slowly getting use to it- well his presence even if they were just small 'visits'.

The air as soon as she entered the building felt tense making it hard for her to breathe, was the ventilation okay? Blinking she picked up the pace as worry filled her, did something happen to the building when she was out? While she speed walked she felt a presence nearby causing a chill to run down her spine. Was it the rabbit?

She shook off the thoughts as she approached the doorway that led to the security room only to release a loud scream and immediately turned to slap who ever grabbed her arm, a yelp entered her ears causing her to pause and glare.

"What the hell is wrong with you Terrance?! Don't you know better than to sneak up on people?" She yelled angrily as Terrance held his now sore face.

"Ouch dudette, that hurt!" Terrance whined as he held his face while she had her hands on her hips.

"Serves you right! How dare you do that" she snapped crossly.

"It's not my fault you're jumpy. Might want to tone down the hits or you could seriously hurt someone" he muttered while rubbing his face.

"Don't sneak up on me then" she folded her arms as she retorted from his comment.

"Fine" he muttered before getting up, he soon dusted himself off while glaring at her weakly.

"What is it now?" She asked coldly.

"Well I was going to ask if you wanted to hang out after your shift-"

"And I said no! I have other things to do" she interrupted with a cold look.

"What is so important that you would blow me off? I just want to hang out dudette" Terrance asked almost sounding like he was whining as frustration entered his features, why was she always rejecting his offers? Was there something wrong with him? Why was she so distant and yet dedicated to her work? In a way she was just an actress with no talent- a prop for the show that was going to take place in less than a few days. Why deny him one measly date? He wasn't asking for much and yet with her it sounds like he is.

"Well go find someone else" she said as she turned to walk away only to jump as his hand slammed on the wall near her face causing Cinder to turn and look at him from the corner of her eye, it was then that she felt herself grow cold at his sudden serious expression.

"And I said that I want to go out with you Cinder, so when you do finish your shift I expect you to meet me at the doors. Is that understood?" He said coldly now moving closer in order to block her from escaping, Cinder felt herself grow cold from the situation, ever so slowly she secretly placed her right hand into her pocket when he wasn't looking. "Well?" He spat, all traces of playfulness and kindness was all gone.

Without warning she moved her hand out of her pocket and pressed the button, immediately Terrance screamed in agony and backed away as his eyes were attacked by her mace which forced him to cover his eyes in order to block out the rest of the spray. Not pausing from her attack Cinder kneed him forcing him to land on the floor, a series of loud coughs and wheezes left his lips as she kicked his stomach a few more times before running away knowing that he couldn't move thanks to the fact that she immobilized him.

As she left the room a shadow appeared from the security room...

"Terrance! What are you up to?" came a very annoyed voice from a distance as they approached the injured male, Terrance looked at the person's direction weakly but could not see causing the voice which was male to groan loudly.

"Honestly! Are you bothering colleagues? Get a hold of yourself Mr. Blaws told you to stop" the male said crossly, Terrance whined as he rubbed his eyes but cried out weakly due to the pain.

"Only because you ratted out on me" Terrance spat crossly.

"With good reason! Leave the new girl alone, the last thing I need is annoyed employees bumping into me because they're trying to escape you" the male said crossly as he folded his arms. Terrance clenched his eyes as he tried to get up only to feel his body hit the floor due to the injuries.

"She can really kick" Terrance muttered but thanks to the echo of the room the male heard it.

"Be thankful that's all she did, I'm warning you Terrance. One more time and I'm telling Mr. Blaws, you will get fired" the male snapped before leaving the injured Terrance on the floor.

"Hey man, you gonna leave me here?" Terrance cried.

"Not my concern, I have other things to do like clean" the male said coldly, a groan from Terrance entered his ears but the male rolled his eyes and walked away.


	9. Chapter 8

**_"I don't understand… I feel as if I know her and yet I don't, why did I do that? Why do I defend her when I have my own work to do? I know I should be dead but I am not. For my sister, for the children… I am coming for you"_**

Cinder didn't stop running as she ran through the rooms until she spotted the abandoned room. Her lungs were burning, desperate for air as she refused to stop in case he started to chase after her. A weak cry like chuckle left her lips as she rushed into the room and slammed it shut, her body felt numb and cold from what happened. Was that? No… that couldn't have been Terrance, he wasn't like that. He left her unnerved at times but that was not him, surely there had to be some kind of mistake.

Slowly she sunk down the door until her knees curled up beside her, Cinder's chest quickly rose and sank thanks to the fact that she was trying to regain what air she had lost. Her throat was parched, in desperate need of a drink but she had no drink with her this time. The stunned female shuddered and shook from what she had saw before putting her knees to her chest and began to slowly release quiet whimpers that eventually grew. Why her? Why did that happened to her?

Was he always like this? Were people often like that? Hiding behind a kind smile but were secretly planning to hurt people? Was this what her mother had to go through? People acting like they respected or wanted to be her friend but in reality wanted to use her when it was convenient? Or were they simply jealous of the fact that she could do things better than others? Just thinking those thoughts made Cinder sick, she wanted no part of this world. But this was her world, what could she do?

The sound of something moving in the air vent made Cinder go on edge, her head shot up to see the vent while her body shivered in fear. Part of her was unable to move but she forced herself to stand, her left arm shook as she slowly reached for the doorknob. Wanting to put as much distance between her and the one in the vent. But! Terrance was out there looking for her- wait a minute! Was he in the vent? But how?!

Cinder released a little whimper as she moved her hand, if he was in the vent then she had to leave but why wasn't he making any noise?

 _Click_

Cinder moved the door back a bit allowing light to enter the room, turning to leave she jumped. A loud shriek left her trembling body as a thump entered the abandoned room. Against her better judgment Cinder turned her head only to feel her knees grow weak, tears entered her eyes as a low sob left her before running towards the familiar yellow body. Cinder shook badly as she wrapped her arms around his frame but he didn't move, instead he looked down with unreadable eyes thanks to his animatronic body.

"I-I was scared" there was no words after he slowly placed a hand on her back, allowing her to let it out.

Cinder soon looked up with a grateful, sheepish smile.

"Thank you" Cinder said softly, the animatronic stared at her but couldn't blink even if he wanted to. Instead he tilted his head showing his confusion. "I was scared, but just being here has calmed me down" she added with the same soft smile leaving him stunned by her words.

" ** _For some reason… despite all that I have done. Just seeing her causes me to act differently. I feel as if what they have done is becoming undone- like I am unfreezing from my current state, even though my body has rotted to mere bones I still feel something. Why is that? Will this feeling leave?_ "**


	10. Chapter 9

Blood ran freely from the cut on the side of her forehead. Hope gritted her teeth as she leaned against the wall while her left hand gripped whatever it could in order to keep steady. He was good, very good to have caught her off like that but she had to keep moving. Her husband and daughter were waiting for her at home. She had lost contact with her boss and this time compared to the last confrontation had almost ended her for sure. She had to get help, she had to get back up or else she wouldn't be able to last-suddenly before she could properly gasp... she was knocked out after a sudden pain attacked her head, blinding her vision until everything turned dark.  
How did she end up being so reckless?

Shouting filled her ears briefly before feeling like she was floating in the air.

"-ope, it's going… okay" said a far away voice, a voice she barely recognized.

* * *

By the time Cinder's shift ended she immediately waved goodbye to the rabbit who went back to the abandoned room causing her to sigh with a soft smile. Trust him to be all secretive. But then again she was having a word with her boss about allowing people near her friend's body. After all seeing his body would scare anyone given how it looked from inside the springlock suit. How he was still moving was beyond her, was it really just a hollow animatronic that had taken over what was left of the body or was the spirit of the person still possessing its own body? Regardless he deserved to rest but how? This place was not exactly kind, it was damp and filled with decay that it was a miracle that some parts of the animatronic were still viable. Then again he must have had a reason to have lasted this long, she could only hope that he would have peace soon…just like she wanted for her mother and father. To find out who did this to her mother and why, why go to extreme lengths? Had her mother taken things too far causing the murderer to go after her? Or did she find something out that would ruin the killer? Which would have him found out and brought to justice, sadly whatever her mother had found would remain lost as she remained in the life threatening coma.

"Cinder I presume?" a voice to her left alerted Cinder that she was not alone anymore, looking to her left she saw a man who was a few inches taller than her father. His skin, nails and hair to her confusion was purple which could have been painted on for dramatic effects. His eyes however were also purple but seemed a little too realistic leaving her more baffled than before.

"Yes, I'm sorry I haven't seen you around here" Cinder said with a weak smile as she was about to head towards the exit. The man stared at her before smiling softly.

"It's understandable, I work as a janitor but I have seen you a few times. Although bumping into me seems to be a habit of yours it seems" he commented causing her to stare at him before remembering the times she bumped into someone but didn't notice who it was since Terrance had bothered her those times, that and the other time she was in a panic before she had called Mr. Blaws the night she had passed out came back to her.

"Oh I'm sorry!" Cinder exclaimed "I wasn't paying attention" she said as he nodded weakly.

"You have been busy, then again Terrance has been a bother since you started I assume. I haven't seen him this overzealous until now" he added before looking around with a frown. "Haven't seen him except that time I saw him on the floor after you took him down" Cinder's face went red from embarrassment.

"Oh um…" she looked away weakly.

"It's fine, he deserved it" hearing his comment took her by surprise.

"Aren't you friends with him?" she asked in confusion.

"Nah, I work with him but he does have a few bad points. Not that anyone is perfect but we don't always have to get along with everyone" he explained before lifting his hand up to shake hers.

"Oh…" Cinder immediately shook his hand in reply with a shaky smile "I'm sorry I didn't get your name" she said causing him to smile, she didn't know why but seeing his calm smile left her with a state of ease. It was weird seeing a man like him working here, that and seeing him having a purple appearance did leave her confused.

"Oh sorry, how rude of me. My name is Mike Schmidt" Mike replied before moving some stray purple hair from his eyes.

"Have you been working here long?" Cinder asked before thanking him for letting her walk past him so they could head towards the exit.

"In a manner of speaking" Mike replied "I've found cleaning to be a hobby, you always find the strangest things when you do" he said as he looked at her.

"Like a bullet hole in a wall?" Cinder suggested, hearing this made his brow raise up in confusion.

"Excuse me?" Mike asked with a curious tone as he stopped walking, hearing his foot steps cease Cinder looked at him with a shy smile.

"Just kidding, then again people do find strange things right?" she commented lightly, looking at her for a bit he nodded.

"Right… but I can agree on some levels" he replied before they resumed walking. He then looked at her appearance once more and blinked. "This might seem odd, but I think I have seen you before or someone who looks like you" Mike commented causing Cinder to blink.

"I don't think we have met before" Cinder said with a confused look on her face, "where would you have met me?" she asked as they stopped at the door.

"In this building, I believe I met someone with blond hair and honey coloured eyes. Despite the colour differences you do look alike" Mike commented only to raise a brow as he saw her eyes grow sad.

"My mother had blond hair and honey brown eyes" she said with a sad smile, blinking Mike looked at her in surprise.

"Where is she now?" he asked with genuine interest, not that she blamed him.

"She's in a coma, someone tried to kill her so now she's on life support. They say she may never wake up but we just didn't have it in us to unplug her. Dad hasn't given up and neither have I" Cinder explained, not seeing his eyes darken for a bit before remaining calm as her eyes remained on the door.

"I'm sorry you have had to go through that, as long as there is a chance. I'm sure she'll pull through" Cinder smiled at his kind words.

"Yes… I think you're right" she added with a warm smile "thank you Mike, it means a lot" she added before he nodded.

"If you have any issues or see anything, don't hesitate to let me know. The last thing anyone wants is for someone to get hurt okay" Mike said with a stern but kind look.

"I will" Cinder replied with a nod.

"Won't be long now until opening day, all I need to do now is find the boy and get him to report to Mr. Blaws" Mike said with an annoyed look that had her giggling without her knowing why.

"Okay, thank you again Mike. It was nice to see you, maybe we can talk again tonight?" she asked with a hopeful smile.

"Definitely" he added with a nod as he smiled back.

" **What a stroke of irony, to think the last link to the one who was suppose to have died would wind up here… to think my plans could get derailed so effortlessly, but I worry not. I have my goal in mind and I will be searching for you** "


	11. Chapter 10: Lost Broken Pieces

**I know that I am not perfect,  
I know that I have made mistakes.  
Some that are costly,  
Some that are too grave for me to want to look back on,  
But...  
One of the biggest mistake I made was to allow you to get away with your crimes.  
And now...  
I have to live with the guilt,  
Knowing that I ****had** **cost someone their life once again,  
If I could relive that day... I would have chased after you, one who never gave up on finding the one person I sought to stop.  
Forgive me ****  
For being the coward that I was, one who missed an opportunity to end this once and for all**  
_

Cinder sighed as she left the building, she suppressed a yawn while heading towards the hospital instead of heading home since she had agreed to meet her father at her mother's room after work. Fatigue and worry still filled Cinder who in turn shook it off for sadness began to enter her body with every step that led her towards the destination, knowing that the chances of good news were slim.  
Even as she entered the building dread filled her mind, knowing that her mother's body could fail at any time resulting in losing her mother. A fear that would often leave her wanting to stay at her mother's bedside, but alas she had to find out who did this and where they were located. That and she wanted to know why, why would someone commit such atrocities to begin with? What would he have had to gain from it besides making families miserable by tearing them apart by killing their loved ones.  
Even as she entered the lift, time seemed to slow down which encouraged her to brood even more as her searching was almost at a dead end. However the only clue so far was the spring suit and the only surviving one was Spring Bonnie who possessed a man's soul. One who left her baffled.  
"I should try to find his picture at least so I could identify him" Cinder murmured until she paused at her mother's door. Surprise filled her at seeing Mike standing while staring at her mother's sleeping form.  
"Took a while to find you, no doubt that he moved you" Mike said in a calm voice, startled she slowly moved until she hid behind the wall but made sure the door was open.  
"I..." Mike sighed heavily before the sound of a chair screeched signalling that he was sitting down, curious Cinder leaned slightly closer in order to hear.

* * *

"There are no words that I can say to show how sorry I am" his calm voice now dripped with guilt and sadness as he stared with his head leaning on his clenched hands while his elbows rested on the wooden arms of the chair, the sides of his mouth went down as frustration began to build up as memories of the past formed in his mind before anger started to enter due to the cause.  
"If I had been there sooner, if I hadn't gotten reckless... why didn't you tell me?" he murmured wearily, bitterness and self loathing filled him as questions after questions continued to swarm the longer he stared at her sleeping form. Mike soon leaned back on the chair before resting his hands on his lap with a light thump. Purple hair soon covered his closed eyes as he remembered finding Hope's body after her attacker fled. No doubt he could have caught the attacker if he had been at the building that night but he hadn't, he had found her laying in a pool of her blood just before Freddy's Pizzeria was suppose to be open. Why hadn't he took the night shift like he should have done? He had thought of her willingness to work at night was a little suspicious… and when she had been attacked before. Claiming that she had shot the attacker only to be discredited, she soon went missing from work only to turn up almost a week later looking determined and dare he assume on edge. Like she was looking over her shoulder, almost as if she was looking for the attacker who could almost strike at anytime when her back was turned. Even at times she was did look normal but he saw through it, in fact he had caught her snooping in a particular area that was restricted, but had quickly she brushed him off while acting happy when he saw through the lie. She was looking for someone and even her husband had left the restaurant for long periods of time before he stopped coming altogether. At first he was worried and the worry only grew as Hope refused to talk about her husband and was more focused on what she was trying to do. However things had changed a day before the attack, that time he had confronted her about her behaviour and actions.  
" _No one is going to believe you_ " Hope said coldly after he had threatened to tell their boss about what she was doing, shocked from her response he had grabbed her arm stopping her from leaving. Spying an empty room he dragged her towards it and locked the door behind them.

* * *

" _Now since there will be no one interrupting or listening in on our talk, care to explain why you are really here? What are you looking for?_ " Mike demanded as he stared at an anxious Hope who looked away while gripping the ends of her left sleeve, which in turn signalled she was more nervous than she was letting on.  
" _I have nothing to say to you. Besides I can't tell you and also how do I know that you have good intentions?_ " Hope asked sharply causing Mike to frown at the response.  
" _I assure you that if I was up to no good you wouldn't be here given how many times I've caught you snooping in private areas_ " Mike said bluntly as he watched her startled expression, surely she didn't think that she was that sly? He could see her when no one was paying attention but had kept it quiet in order to find out what she was up to. Biting her lip Hope looked away before her eyes narrowed.  
" _Why are you even working here anyways?_ " Mike asked as he folded his arms.  
" _Would you believe me if I told you?_ " Hope asked bluntly as she stared at him with a hard expression.  
" _Of course_ " Mike nodded not hesitating, after what he had gone through how could he not believe her? If he had told her about why he looked purple and looked as if he was decaying would she believe him? Mike saw her grow nervous as her mind seemed to be working hard, most likely from trying to find the right words or at worst case preparing to lie and cover up what she was truly up to.  
" _I am working undercover in order to find out what happened to the missing children_ " Hope said while pushing a lock of hair away from her face, Mike blinked in surprise; this was not what he had assumed she was up to. In truth his mind was somewhere else entirely, for all he knew she was some nosy reporter trying to get a scoop. " _I am also trying to track down the killer who is responsible for their deaths_ " Hope explained softly as she tried to keep her composure while trying to make sure no one was near the door, the thought of being exposed and prevented from entering this place worried her deeply. She was too far in to back down or be banned from the establishment because they wanted to cover things up. After hearing her explanation, words could not express how shocked Mike was feeling even though he was trying to conceal the feelings. The one thing he was trying to do and she was here but for similar reasons.  
" _Do you... do you have any idea of how dangerous that is?_ " His voice above a whisper before looking at her dead in the eyes, restrained fury and horror at how close to death she had been at numerous times. " _You almost got killed because of how reckless you_ _are being_ " Mike snapped now losing his cool on how foolish she had been, there was a killer in the building and she was letting herself be vulnerable. The killer no doubt would end her if they wanted to, soon gaining his composure he exhaled heavily before looking at her. " _So you work for the police I assume?_ " He asked only to his dismay she nodded mutely.  
" _How-what has your investigation led you to?_ " He asked now eyeing the door just in case there was someone outside. He had to know, does she know who the killer is? Or anything about the killer for that matter?  
" _I have a few leads, the bullet is missing still so I can assume he still has it. I am getting close, I just need to find Patrick_ " Hope replied calmly as her mind went to the boy she had seen, she could only hope that he was okay wherever he was in the building. Confusion filled Mike on who Patrick was?  
" _Who is Patrick?_ " He asked looking more baffled by her comment, he watched her eyes grow sombre before looking at the black and white square tiled floor.  
" _He is one of the missing children who tried to lead me to where the other missing children were before the killer attacked me, just when I had let my guard down_ " Hope explained feeling bitter about how she could have been jumped on like that, only Mike gave her an odd look from her reply.  
" _How can you see someone who is dead?_ " He asked, his mind however led him wondering if she was okay in the mind since no one could see dead people. It is impossible unless you were dead yourself.  
Frowning Hope went silent before walking towards the door, knowing that the discussion was over due to how he was reacting. What was the point in telling him if he wasn't truly going to believe her, he most likely thought that she was crazy who had escaped her appointment in the loony bin.  
" _Just because you don't see them doesn't mean you can look down on others_ " Hope snapped as she grabbed the doorknob and was about to twist it, Mike blinked before narrowing his eyes but tried not to show the raw anger that filled him. Oh if only she knew…  
" _Look whatever you think you see is not truly there Hope, you probably got unlucky and found the killer-_ " Mike bit the inside of his cheek as worry for her safety grew, why was she putting herself at risk? No he didn't want that man to take another life just because she was getting close to the truth, even if he had to upset her enough to give up he would save her. Hope hearing this however turned to give him a sharp, hurt look that signalled he had hurt her feelings which in turn made him mentally wince. Guilt filled his body but repressed it, better her alive then dead where she would be unable to live her life.  
" _How can you say that?! I know what I can see and I sure as hell don't need to prove it to you, now I need to find Patrick so he can lead me to the missing children. I don't care if you don't believe me, I have a job to do and I am seeing it to the end_ " she spat as she sent her hand out of his grasp.  
" _You need help Hope, claiming to see dead people only belongs in a movie. But we're not in one, this is real life and you can die_ " Mike said sternly wanting nothing more than to get her out of this situations, in truth this was between him and the killer. She was not going to get herself killed over a stupid idea to find the missing children, not if he had any say in this. " _Who will believe someone who is claiming things are there when we the average group cannot? To them you're just a crazy lunatic ranting and raving about the dead, so stop this Hope! Enough otherwise it will get you killed_ " Mike pleaded but to his dismay it was on deaf ears as fury filled her form once more at how harsh he was being towards her.  
" _I don't care if you believe me or not_ " Hope murmured calmly as she looked down which allowed her hair to cover her eyes, soon she moved her head so she could look him straight in the eye which left him stunned at how she refused to back down.  
" _Patrick is my only lead, he has told me one of the children Fitz had also been killed by the same man. Once I find out who he is I will stop him whether anyone helps me or not_ " she added while her voice grew stronger and determined to his dismay.  
" _Hope... please_ " Mike pleaded softly wanting her to get away from this place, he didn't want another casualty. Especially her, unlike her his life was already over and it was thanks to one person.  
" _No Mike, I won't give up trying to find the truth. I already have leads and evidence that are pointing to a few things that will help me shine light on to this madness that is taking place. Neither you nor my husband are going to stop me, sorry Mike but I am not turning back now when I am so close_ " and with that Hope left the room. Mike during that moment felt his stomach drop, this couldn't be happening. No it couldn't end like this.  
" _At least let me help-_ " he rushed out the room.  
" _I don't need your help!_ " She snapped angrily at how he was now deciding to help after tryinng to discourage her this whole time. Hearing her sharp words halting him from moving or speaking " _you said it yourself that I am crazy. So who would want to help a crazy person?_ " Hope asked coldly causing him to wince at how he deserved that comment.  
" _I want to find who did this, please... let me help_ " Hope stared at him with hard eyes for a while before she looked away, she tucked a stray lock away from her face before a soft sigh left her lips.  
" _Tomorrow during my shift, I'll bring a copy of my research but if you don't turn up that's it_ " was all Hope said before she walked away.

* * *

Sadly fate had not been on his side and had delayed him from seeing her. Even now the guilt continues to haunt him the more he watched her sleeping form. If only he had seen her, he could have not only saved her but he could have probably found out more clues to where the one he was seeking was hiding. Alas though, he had been too late and as a result caused Hope's family to suffer.  
"I... I will find him, I promise that I will end this Hope" Mike said before looking up at the ceiling wearily, his eyes tired but he stayed awake. Not that he could die of exhaustion. No... he had unfinished business to attend to.

* * *

Cinder frowned as she remained silent, seeing as it would seem like she was spying to any onlookers she steeled her resolve and entered the door.  
Immediately Mike stood up once he recognised Cinder, as a result he relaxed while smiling softly at her cautious girl. Which in turn was to be expected since Hope no doubt had told Cinder anything about him, that and she had just met him. It was most likely odd for to see the man who she was working with now enter her mother's hospital room. In the end he was a stranger to him, knowing this he felt bad for causing more sadness to plague the family for his folly.  
"Ah Cinder, it's good to see you" he smiled however Cinder spotted how worn and tired he was thanks to not only his eyes but his expression as well.  
"Did you know mum?" Cinder asked as she remained calm despite what she had just heard. Mike sighed but didn't stop smiling as he turned his head to face Hope's sleeping form.  
"I use to work with her, in truth I didn't know where to find her after the incident" Mike admitted solemnly before looking at Cinder who stared at him blankly but he had a feeling she was suspicious of him. "You both do look alike that I am surprised that I didn't see the similarities sooner" he added. Cinder blinked not knowing what to say.

"Mother never told me about you" she admitted causing him to crack a smile.

"Yeah, I said something that made her upset. Not that I blame her" he sighed softly "I just wished that she hadn't chosen to shoulder the burden of trying to find out the truth by herself" he admitted to her surprise.

"Then you know why she is here?" Cinder exclaimed softly before he nodded, his eyes staring solely at the floor. The shame of causing this made Mike unable to look at them in the face.

"The killer had caught up to her… I… I was delayed and only managed to caught up to her in the nick of time, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't regret preventing this" Mike added while Cinder took a seat on a spare chair, seeing her pointing to the other chair he sat down.

"I want to find out why this is happening, it's very convenient that the establishment is still standing even though it is a death trap" Cinder commented causing him to nod glumly.

"I'm trying to look for clues, there has to be something that I'm missing. Have you found anything in there that might be useful?" Mike asked causing her to blink, her mind went to dirty yellow Springtrap suit which was being possessed by a man. Cinder subconsciously bit the inside of her cheek. Should she tell him about the animatronic?

"Sadly no" Cinder said with a shake of her head which caused her hair to move side to side, hearing this Mike's shoulders drop while his eyes look down at his lap.

"I see…" a faint smile formed on his face at his rotten luck, no doubt the things he seeked lied with Hope and she was unlikely to tell him. "Whatever you do Cinder, if you do see anything tell me straight away, even after all these years the killer is still out there and if he finds someone is a threat to them… he kill come back to finish what he had started. So please promise me you'll be smart about this and tell me" Mike said while Cinder stared at him with mixed conflicted emotions.

 **A world without conflict, sadly for you that's unlikely for soon my plans will come to fruition. That foolish girl will lead me right to you.**

 **And when I do find you**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **I'll kill you**

 **You were both fools to stop me**


End file.
